By Don Thomas/Dalsiandon with assistance from Kristina Thomas, Tim Ballard and Deri Morgan who worked on this with me. And Mike Kelly, whom I have never met but I have incorporated much of what he first designed.

What you will need to Play Dejarik;The Dice:You will need are a D4, a D6, a D8 and you will need three D10’s, for a total of six dice. D stands for dice; the number represents how many sides the dice has so a D6 is a dice with 6 sides/6 numbers. Some of the alternative rules as described later on require some additional dice.

The Creatures:You will need eight monstrous creatures that will fit onto the game board. Wizards of the Coasts, Star Wars Miniatures game “Masters of the Force” expansion has a full set of the eight creatures originally seen in Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope. These are the creatures that will be referenced throughout these pages.

A Dejarik board: Here is some basic information about the board.

The board is made up of a large circle between 12 and 18 inches in diameter. The board is divided into three concentric circles, called orbits. The central circle is called the Dejarik circle. The outer orbits are divided into twelve equal segments, known as rays, which alternately in color, the most basic is black and white.

Players:Holochess requires two players.

Rules of Dejarik:Dejarik is played with a set of eight pieces, each of which has unique movement, defensive and offensive capabilities. The players sit on opposite sides of the board, and each control four of the combatants.

The Traditional pieces, and their prospective ratings, are as follows: There are two power pieces in a traditional Dejarik set, the Mantellian Savrip and the Monnok. Power pieces have high ratings in all three capabilities. The Savrip has the ratings of Attack 6, Defense 6, Movement 2. The Monnok has the ratings of Attack 6, Defense 5, Movement 3.Besides this, there are two Mid pieces, the Ghhhk and the Houjix, which have mid-range ratings in all three capabilities. The Ghhhk has the ratings of Attack 4, Defense 3, Movement 2. The Houjix has the ratings of Attack 4, Defense 4, Movement 1.After these, there are two Defensive pieces, the Kirtan Strider and the Ng’ok which have high defense ratings and low attack ratings. The Strider has the ratings of Attack 2, Defense 7, Movement 3. The Ng’ok has the ratings of Attack 3, Defense 8, Movement 1.Finally, there are two Offensive pieces, the K’lor’slug and the Molator, which have high attack ratings and low defense ratings. The K’lor’slug has the ratings of Attack 7, Defense 3, Movement 2. The Molator has the ratings of Attack 8, Defense 2, Movement 2.The Object of Dejarik is to destroy all the opponents’ pieces, before the opponent can destroy yours. Diagram 1At the beginning of the game randomly divides the pieces between the players, and places them on opposites sides of the board, in the four spaces closest to the respective players (See Diagram 1). Each game a player may have different pieces on his side, so it is important to know the capabilities of each playing piece.

How to determine the teams?1st) Assign each creature a number between 1 and 8. Players then "draft" their creature by a series of dice rolls. An example; Savrip #1, Monnok #2, Ghhk #3, Houjix #4, Klorslug #5, Molator #6, Strider #7, and the Ngok #8. (This is just an example you can number and renumber the creatures as you wish.) 2nd) Each player will then simultaneously roll their D8, the players will then find the creature that has the corresponding number to their dice roll. If there is a tie, simply reroll the dice. If a dice number is rolled and the creature has already been drafted, reroll and accept the new result. The other player must wait for the reroll to claim his drafted creature. If there is no tie or dispute about a roll simply draft your creature and make the next dice roll.3rd) When only two creatures remain roll the dice as normal. However if only one player rolls a number for a creature that has not yet been drafted then that player selects that creature and the other player takes the remaining creature by default. (Example A) This is to prevent long drawn out sets of rolls for the final two characters. If neither player rolls the number of an undrafted creature then reroll. If this happens three times, on the third roll the player with the highest roll selects which creature to draft or can defer to the other player. (Example B) Again reroll all ties.

Here are some examples. Example A. The Molator is #4 and has not yet been drafted by roll. The other, a Ghhk, is #8 and also has not been drafted. Player A rolls a 5 and Player B rolls a 4. Player B drafts the Molater with the dice roll and Player A claims the Ghhk by default. Example B. The two remaining undrafted creatures are the Strider #7 and the Ngok, # 3. Player A rolls a 6, a 2 and a 4. Player B rolls a 5, a 1 and an 8. Player B then chooses to draft either the Ngok or the Strider to his squad. Player B can also defer the draft to Player A and let that player draft a creature instead.

Who goes first and creature set-up?Simply have each player roll one of there D10’s and the player with the highest number will go second. The player with the lowest roll sets up first.After that, play proceeds as follows:During each turn, a player is allowed to take two consecutive actions, which can be used to either move one of their pieces to a new space, or to attack an opponent’s piece. (So, during a turn, a player may move a piece twice, or may attack two other pieces, or move and then attack, or attack and then move.) However a player must use both of their allotted actions each turn. Diagram 2Legal and illegal moves for a piece with a Move Rating of 3

Moving: When moving a piece across the game board, the piece must be moved its full amount of spaces designated by its movement rating. For example, when moving the Strider, the player must move the piece 3 spaces, and may not move it only 2 or 1 in order to place it in a more favorable position. When moving, a piece may move to any space adjacent to its own [either around the orbit or along the ray]’ but cannot move diagonally, or into a space occupied by another piece (See Diagram 2)

Attacking: If a player has positioned one of his pieces adjacent to an opposing piece (assuming he has an action remaining in his turn), the player may declare an attack on that piece.The results of the attack are calculated by rolling dice and adding up all the numbers, using the piece’s attack rating versus the opposing piece’s defense rating.The outer orbit is considered a safe zone. There can be no combat actions into or out of the outer orbit.

There are four possible outcomes to an attack, determined by the dice:1. The player’s piece may destroy his opponent’s. This is appropriately known as a "kill". After this, the opponent’s piece is removed from the board, but the attack piece remains in its present space.2. The player’s piece may beat its opponent’s piece by a very small margin. This results in a "push". Strategically, pushing is one of the most important parts of the game. In a push, the attacker "pushes" his opponent’s piece to any open adjacent space, either to block other pieces, to set the piece up for an easy kill, or to simply get it out of the way.3. The Opponent’s piece may tie or beat the player’s piece by a small margin. This is called a "counter-push". This works the same way as a push, except that the opponent is now pushing the attacking piece into an open adjacent space.4. The opponent’s piece may destroy the player’s piece. This is known as a "counter-kill", and can often change the strategy of the entire match.

To-The-Death: If each player only has one piece remaining on the board, a final confrontation occurs. The two pieces move to the center of the board, and battle To-The-Death. Each piece uses its highest rating (be it Attack or Defense) to determine the outcome. If the first round does not result in a kill, then the same process is repeated, until only one is left standing. This player has won the game.

How to Attack and DefendFor all attack and defense actions you will use these basic formulas for your creatures. Do not be afraid to refer back to it as you play the game.This is the standard for all creatures: Add the Base attack/Defense to the roll of the two D10’s and a secondary dice:If you base Attack/Defense is 7 or 8 you use a D4 as your secondary dice. Possible Max score 31 or 32If you base Attack/Defense is 5 or 6 you use a D6 as your secondary dice. Possible Max score 31 or 32If you base Attack/Defense is 3 or 4 you use a D8 as your secondary dice. Possible Max score 31 or 32If you base Attack/Defense is 2 you use a D10 as your secondary dice. Possible Max score 31 or 32

Any time an attack is made each player rolls according to their roll in the action. The attacking character rolls based on his base attack score, the defender rolls in the same manner. That is why the chart above is marked Attack/Defense. Then use the results and determine the outcome. Use the box/chart labeled "If" and "Then" to help you determine the result.

Here is an example; The higher stats like the Klorslug has a +7 attack and would roll the two D10’s and the D4 and add its base to the result. However if the Klorslug is defending it would roll the 2 D10’s with a D8 and then add it's base defense score to determine its defensive outcome against the opposing players creatures base stat and dice roll. The Houjix with it is +4's would always roll two D10’s and a D8 and then add it is +4 to the result whether it be attacking or defending.If ThenAttack beats Defense by 7 or more KillAttack beats defense by 6 or less PushTie Counter-PushDefense beats Attack by 6 or less Counter PushDefense beats attack by 7 or more Counter-Kill

An Example Game of Dejarik:

Chewbacca and Rd-D2 are playing Dejarik during the long trip to Alderaan.The game is started, and Chewie smugly allows R2 the first move. The pieces come up, and the holograms immediately begin taunting and snarling at one another. Chewie ended up with (From left to right in his starting spaces) the Monnok, the Molator, the Kirtan Strider, and K’lor’slug, while R2 received the Ghhhk, the Houjix, the Mantellian Savrip, and the Ng’ok. (Notice that R2 ended up with both of the mid-range pieces, setting his at a slight disadvantage from the very beginning.)As his first move, the astromech droid moves the Ng’ok one space counter-clockwise around the outer orbit, in order ot interfere with Chewie’s most dangerous piece, the Monnok. As his second move, R2 moves the Houjix into the central space, a very common opening move.Then the Wookiee takes his turn, and he decides to move his Strider (on space in, 2 spaces clockwise, followed by three more spaces clockwise). This places his piece on R2’s side of the board, directly behind the Houjix. Remember that the Strider is a Defensive piece. Chewie is using a bold but not uncommon strategy, trying to bait R2 into attacking his strongest defender.Chewbacca sits back grinning, while C-3PO, kibitzing, advises his counterpart to be careful.R2 responds by moving his Savrip into position, and then using it to attack Chewbacca’s Strider. Chewbacca expects a victory, or at least a push. The computer makes the calculations. Surprisingly, the Savrip wins, and proceeds to snap the Strider’s spine and cackle over it’s limp course. [Chewie rolled an 24, R2 got a 31]"RWWAAAAH!!!""He made a fair move. Screaming about it wont help you."After a brief discussion with Han, C-3PO advises a new strategy: "Let the Wookiee win." Chewbacca chuckles and contemplates his next move….

In acknowledgement;

So I spent a considerable amount of time with the Dejarik rules that are posted here; http://dhost.info/rissa/Holochess/index.htmThese are the rules written by Mike Kelly. His rules are based on a system that uses multiple six sided dice much like the Wizards of the Coast game Axis and Allies “War at Sea” or Games Workshops Warhammer 40,000. Much of what follows is from his original website only a few changes have been made. However these changes are significant in shaping the way the game is played. Feel free to try his version it is a fun alternative, after all much of this is based in that system.

Tim Ballard and Deri Morgan devised the use of a pair of ten sided dice instead of a single twenty sided dice as was originally intended. But after considerable play testing it was determined that the two ten sided dice lended itself to a generally more balanced game.

Advanced Dejarik Rules:This format adheres to all the above rules with just these few modifications. These advanced rules are meant to be selective; their purpose is to enhance or change the game play. You can use one but not another if you wish, but it must be declared before the game begins, this also must be done before creature selection.King of the Center: All combat actions must happen into or out of the Dejarik circle. This continues to leave the outer orbit as a safe zone, but requires more movement toward the Dejarik circle.The Death Push: This is when a creature has lost a combat round and has been pushed but it has an opponent’s creatures surrounding it on four sides, or has no legal space to be pushed into. This cannot take place on a counter-push, only an offensive action can allow this. Nowhere is Safe: All orbits are considered legal for attacks. This format allows first turn combat. It also allows the player with the highest dice roll to decide if they wish to go first or second. This is the opposite of the standard version where the winning player always goes second.

20 Sides of Terror: This format requires an additional dice, this would be a D20. In this format instead of using two D10’s simply use one D20 instead. All other dice actions are unchanged.

Rays of Death: This format requires an additional dice, this would be a D12. This is the most challenging alternative format. Each creature must be activated or used once before it can be used again. So the player must use their maximum number of creatures before it can use the same creature again. If a player loses a creature then the opposing player will have the ability to activate all of its remaining creatures after the last creature has gone from it is opponent. This means one player can potentially move all four of its creatures at one time if the circumstances are right.

Much like in the game of chess where each square has a designation or coordinate, so does each ray and each orbit have it is own designation. In this format the combat square will alter after each player has moved it is maximum number of creatures. This is done by rolling a D4 and a D12. The picture below outlines the coordinates or space designations.

The D4 determines the Orbit, the D12 determines the Ray. For the D4 a 1 or a 4 are the Dejarik circle, 2 is orbit B, 3 is orbit C. The 12 simply match the showing dice number with the ray that has the same number. All combat must take place into or out of that ray for this round.

_________________"Rolling a Natural 20, there is no other feeling like it."

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